Island Mine, Isle Royale National Park, Keweenaw County, Michigan, USAi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Island Mine | Mine |
| Isle Royale National Park | National Park |
| Keweenaw County | County |
| Michigan | State |
| USA | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
47° 55' 19'' North , 89° 2' 5'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Neebing | 1,986 (2013) | 39.3km |
| Thunder Bay | 99,334 (2018) | 53.6km |
The Island Copper Mining Company was organized in 1873 and began operations in 1874. Early exploration of the property exposed a rich ore vein fifteen inches wide in a trench that was dug along a conglomerate lens of the Portage Lake Volcanics. In fact, the mine was the only one on Isle Royale to recover copper from a conglomerate. The site consists of three shafts, 350 feet apart, with depths of 50, 150, and 200 feet. The two deepest shafts were connected underground on the first and second levels. The shafts were very flat, dipping between 19 and 23 degrees. In the beginning, the company described the rock as being excellent, but by 1875, all operations ceased. A later company report described the rock as being too economically unprofitable to continue. In the three years the company operated, 213,000 pounds of copper were produced. After the mill burned in 1876, the company closed permanently. Shortly afterwards, the company leased the property to the newly formed Island Tribute Company. This company worked the vein for two additional years until 1878, recovering around 60 tons of copper. In 1909, the property was acquired by Thomas Cole and Associates of Duluth, Minnesota who had planned to conduct exploratory work in 1912. No additional information about the exploration work is noted.
Today, the only remnents of the mine are some small tailings piles, the three shafts, and a large steam engine. Being the site is on national park lands, collecting at the site is strictly forbidden.
Deposit: Conglomerate is 14-16 feet thick
Development: Historic site in national park. Artifacts of early mining preserved.
Geology: Abundant copper found interstitially in felsite conglomerate with calcite and quartz.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsCommodity List
This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.Mineral List
3 valid minerals.
Rock Types Recorded
Note: data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!
Select Rock List Type
Alphabetical List Tree DiagramDetailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Calcite Formula: CaCO3 |
| ⓘ Native Copper Formula: Cu Description: found in conglomerate |
| ⓘ Quartz Formula: SiO2 |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Native Copper | 1.AA.05 | Cu |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
| ⓘ | Calcite | 5.AB.05 | CaCO3 |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| C | Carbon | |
|---|---|---|
| C | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| Cu | Copper | |
| Cu | ⓘ Native Copper | Cu |
Other Databases
| Link to USGS MRDS: | 10082642 |
|---|
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
North AmericaContinent
- Lake SuperiorLake
North America PlateTectonic Plate
- Mid-continent DomainDomain
- Mid-continent RiftNarrow Rift
USA
- Midcontinent RiftGeologic Province
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Island Mine, Isle Royale National Park, Keweenaw County, Michigan, USA